Ambassadors from Western countries including the United States and the United Kingdom will not attend a ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki after Israel was snubbed.
The mayor of the southwestern Japanese city, Shiro Suzuki, said on Thursday that Israel’s non-invitation was not politically motivated but added that there would be no change to the decision.
The comments came a day after it was revealed that the ambassadors of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the European Union sent a letter to Nagasaki in mid-July saying that “it would be difficult for us to participate at a high level” in the event if Israel was excluded.
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 is believed to have killed approximately 74,000 people, both from the blast and later from radiation.
The event took place three days after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and six days before Japan surrendered in World War II.
Mr Suzuki said security reasons, including potential protests, were behind his decision not to invite Israel to the memorial service.
But he said he regretted the ambassadors’ decision.
“It was unfortunate that they informed us that their ambassador could not attend,” he said.
A spokesman for the British embassy in Tokyo confirmed to the BBC that ambassador Julia Longbottom will not attend the ceremony in Nagasaki.
Ambassador Longbottom said the decision not to invite Israel created unfortunate and misleading comparisons with Russia and Belarus – the only two countries not invited to this year’s ceremony.
US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel will also not attend. An embassy statement said the mayor of Nagasaki had politicized the event by demonizing Israel.
The ambassador will instead attend a peace ceremony at a temple in Tokyo, a spokesman told the BBC.
Israel’s ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, who was invited and attended the memorial service in Hiroshima on Tuesday, said the Nagasaki decision “sends the wrong message to the world”.
In June, Mr. Suzuki said Nagasaki sent a letter to the Israeli embassy calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says Israel’s massive military offensive on Gaza has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians.
The event followed a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage back to Gaza.
